Genesis 43-44

New Life Version

Jacob’s Brothers Go to Egypt the Second Time

43 The time of no food was hard in the land. ² When they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again and buy us a little food.” ³ But Judah told him, “The man said to us with sharp words, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go to Egypt and buy you food. ⁵ But if you do not send him, we will not go. For the man said, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

⁶ Israel said, “Why did you do me such a wrong by telling the man that you had another brother?” ⁷ And they said, “The man asked questions about us and our family. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

⁸ Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. And we will get up and go, so we and you and our children may live and not die. ⁹ I will put myself as trust for him. You may put him in my care. If I do not return him to you and set him in front of you, then let the blame be on me forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not waited, we would have returned twice by now.”

¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best things of the land in your bags. Carry them to the man as a gift. Give him perfume and honey and spices and special things to eat. ¹² Take twice as much money with you to take the place of the money that was returned in your bags. It may be that it was a mistake. ¹³ Take your brother also. Get up, and return to the man. ¹⁴ May the All-powerful God give you such favor with the man that he may let your other brother and Benjamin return. If my children are taken from me, I am filled with sorrow.”

¹⁵ So the men took the gift, and twice as much money, and Benjamin. They got up and went to Egypt, and stood in front of Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the man who took care of his house, “Bring the men into the house. And kill an animal and make it ready. For the men will eat with me at noon.” ¹⁷ So the man did what Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸ The men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our bags the first time we came. He is looking for something against us. He will come down on us and take us for servants with our donkeys.” ¹⁹ So they came near the man who took care of Joseph’s house, and spoke to him at the door of the house. ²⁰ They said, “O, my lord, we came here the first time to buy food. ²¹ When we came to the place where we stayed the night, we opened our bags. And we found that the full weight of each man’s money was at the top of the bag. So we have brought it again with us. ²² We have brought other money with us also to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our bags.”

²³ But he answered, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you riches in your bags. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴ The man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water to wash their feet. And he fed their donkeys. ²⁵ So they made the gift ready to give to Joseph when he came at noon. For they had heard that they were to eat there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they gave him the gift they had brought with them. They bowed to the ground in front of him. ²⁷ Then Joseph asked them about their well-being. He said, “Is your father well, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?” ²⁸ And they said, “Your servant, our father is well. He is still alive.” Then they bowed their heads low in honor to Joseph.

²⁹ As he looked up, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. He said, “Is this your youngest brother whom you told me about? May God show you loving-favor, my son.” ³⁰ Then Joseph went out in a hurry. For he had much feeling for his brother. He went in his room and cried. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out. Hiding his feelings, he said, “Bring the food.”

³² So they brought food to Joseph by himself, and to them by themselves, and to the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves. The Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews because they thought it would be sinful. ³³ Joseph’s brothers were seated in front of him by the way they were born, from the oldest to the youngest. And the men looked at each other in wonder. ³⁴ Joseph took food to them from his own table. But Benjamin’s food was five times as much as any of theirs. And they were free in eating and drinking with him.

Joseph’s Cup

44 Then Joseph told the man who took care of his house, “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry. And put each man’s money in his bag. ² Put my silver cup in the bag of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did what Joseph had told him to do. ³ Early in the morning the men were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴ When they had left the city and were not far away, Joseph said to the man who took care of his house, “Get up and follow the men. When you come to them, say to them, ‘Why have you returned bad for good? Why have you stolen the silver cup? ⁵ Is this not my lord’s drinking cup that he uses for telling about the future? You have done wrong.’”

⁶ So he came to them and spoke these words to them. ⁷ And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants would never do such a thing. ⁸ Remember how we returned to you from the land of Canaan with the money we found in the top of our bags. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your owner’s house? ⁹ If the cup is found with any of your servants, let him be put to death. And the others of us will be your servants.”

¹⁰ He answered, “Let it be as you say. He who is found to have the cup will be my servant. But you others will be without blame.” ¹¹ Then each man put his bag down on the ground in a hurry and opened it. ¹² The man looked for it, beginning with the oldest and stopping with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s bag. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes. After each man loaded his donkey again, they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground in front of him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What is this that you have done? Did you not know that a man like me has power to know what is not known by others?” ¹⁶ Judah said, “We do not know what to say to my lord. How can we make ourselves right in your eyes? God has shown the guilt of your servants. See, we are your servants, both we and the one who was found with the cup.” ¹⁷ But Joseph said, “No. I will do no such thing. The person who was found with the cup will be my servant. But you others may go in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah came near to him, and said, “O my lord, let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears. Do not be angry with your servant. For you are like Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young brother who was born to him when he was old. Now his brother is dead. So he is all that is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him here to me, so I may see him.’ ²² But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. For if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes here with you, you will not see my face again.’

²⁴ “When we returned to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. ²⁵ Our father said, ‘Go again and buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go there. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go there. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

²⁷ “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave birth to two of my sons. ²⁸ One left me, and I said, “For sure he is torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one also from me, and something happens to him, you will bring my white hair down to the grave in sorrow.’ ³⁰ My father’s life and the boy’s life are one. If I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, ³¹ when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will bring the white hair of your servant our father down to the grave in sorrow. ³² For I put myself as trust for the boy to my father. I said, ‘If I do not return him to you, then let the blame be on me forever.’ ³³ So let your servant stay and work for my lord, instead of the boy. Let the boy go home with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I am afraid to see the sorrow that my father would suffer.”